The whole process of Goal directed design is broken down into six steps.

1. Research:

In this stage you collect qualitative data about the users or potential users through field studies and interviews. You carry out a competitor analysis and interview key stakeholders to gather their requirements. When you’re finished you should be left with a set of instructions which describe how the product could be used.

2. Modelling:

The modelling stage can be broken down into two parts. In part one you define the domain model by building on the workflow patterns from the research stage. In part two you define the user model through the use of personas or key archetypes which represent identifiable groups of users.

3. Requirements Definition:

Stage three is critical for providing that link between the user model and other models. In this stage you focus on context scenarios to help define ‘a day in the life’ of a persona. You also consider business goals, technical considerations and brand guidelines during this stage but it’s the context scenarios which really make a big impact to the way you think and help generate a ton of ideas you might not have considered before.

4. Framework Definition:

During the framework definition stage you create the overall product concept and define the behaviour and visual design of the product. You can also create prototypes during this stage.

5. Refinement:

In the refinement stage you place more focus on detail and refinement and at the end of this stage it’s recommended that you create your design documentation.

6. Development Support:

No matter how clear the vision is for the product things can and do change during development, budgetary and timeline concerns can affect which features get taken away or which new ones get added and it’s critical that the designer is on hand to offer advice and to make sure the overall design quality doesn’t get compromised.